Journalist Leonard Pitts urges student political involvement

Pulitzer Prize winner, Leonard Pitts, speaks at PSC on the effects of our country’s current polarized political environment. The title was “Saving America: Politics at the Crossroads.”

By Barron Demons

Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author Leonard Pitts shared his views on our divided society at the WSRE Amos Studio. On August 30th, the syndicated columnist presented his speech Saving America: Politics at the Crossroads.

Pitts greeted the crowd with humor and touched on important yet often controversial subjects. He quoted many historical figures from Henry Adams to Abraham Lincoln. He noted that America has changed over the years including the rise in the “shady political practice” gerrymandering. He said that “29 senators sought reelection in 2016 and 93% won their races.”

Young adults today may find themselves wondering what party to vote for and realize each have pros and cons. Pitts has described the Democratic and Republican parties as being “too far left and too far right,” but was hopeful that within his lifetime “we will see the rise of a viable third party.”

Pitts believes a strong political middle needs to be established in order to have a better foundation for our country to proceed in the right direction.

The Corsair staff had the privilege to have a one-on-one discussion with Leonard Pitts.

He believes “our new generation of activists should move quickly and strategically in furtherance of its goals.”

“These kids are smart,” Pitts said, expressing that it would take challenging the younger generations through education to fix our nation’s issues. He urged students to utilize the power of smartphones to organize rallies and events, something that previous generations did not have available.

He also suggested voting, not just during elections but with dollars as well. Spending money on products and services from politically aligned organizations is another way students can vote with their dollars.

Although Pitts is known for his distaste for the President, he informed the crowd that President Trump was not one to blame for our present troubled times, but our society.

“[Donald Trump] is not the cause of the problem; he is the result of the problem,” said Pitts. According to Pitts, Trumps impeachment would not solve the issues we have. It would be up to the citizens of the country to speak out against what is right and what is wrong.

“The one good thing that has come out of this [election],” Pitts said, “is that the decent people in this country seem to have finally awakened. . . There’s an urgency alive in us that has not been there for a very long time.”